When an April Day is Done
by lightmylumiere
Summary: Lady Larken and Sir Harry flee their home kingdom and find themselves with Snow White and Prince Charming when a powerful curse strikes.
1. Prologue: The Fairy Tale

_Note before you start reading: This story contains characters from not only from Once Upon A Time, but also from Once Upon A Mattress. I own nothing. Please enjoy and review!_

Prologue: The Fairy Tale

Lady Larken sat beside Sir Harry in the large royal bedroom, waiting for the couple they now worked for. They had run away from their own kingdom and ran all the way to this one, hoping that they could be more useful to this princess and prince than the queen they used to serve. Surprisingly, when they finally made it to the kingdom the new princess and prince had recently married and were looking for help around the castle: Sir Harry as a guard, Lady Larken as a lady-in-waiting. It was what they were both used to doing before they fled from their home.

"Harry, what are we going to do?" Larken asked. "What if the queen sends people out after us?" Larken was always frazzled about little things, but even Harry felt a slight twinge of nervousness about Her Majesty. She was always looking for people that disappeared, but no one had ever truly run away from the kingdom (except for different princesses, which they had lost twelve so far with ten running away). "What will we do, Harry?"

Harry entwined his hand with hers, patting her arm with his other hand. "Don't be afraid, little Larken, everything will be alright. The Queen won't think to look for us here. We're safe, and this new royal family are said to be the nicest and kindest people in all the realms. They'll protect us, and we'll protect them."

"I hope you're right, Harry." She rested her head on his shoulder when she heard footsteps coming behind them. She turned around to see a dark haired woman in a white dress and red cloak, her arm hooked with a man in a red-and-black ensemble. "You must be the prince and princess." She stood and curtsied. Sir Harry stood quickly to join her. "I'll move our things and be out of the room, your highness; we'll stay out of your way…"

Prince James looked curiously between the blonde woman in purple and the man beside her in the white shirt. "You're the new knight, and the lady-in-waiting."

Snow nudged her new husband. "We have a lady in waiting now? Oh, fancy."

Larken and Harry exchanged glances. Other than the suitcase and the trunk of theirs in the corner of the room, the room was fairly empty. There was a closet full of formal gowns that clearly belonged to the princess, and a four post bed with a draping canopy. It wasn't at all like their castle in their own kingdom. The rooms were overly filled with mirrors and posh fabrics and curtains on all the windows. "Well, I think introductions are in order." Prince James stated adamantly. His pretty wife clung to his arm and looked at the two beside their bed. "I'm James, and this is my wife Snow."

"Sir Harry." Harry pointed to himself. "And my darling Larken." He pointed kindly to his beautiful girlfriend. "Thank you for allowing us to stay in your kingdom, it's very nice."

Snow smiled kindly to both of the strangers in her sight. "Well make yourself at home. We hope that our kingdom will be to your liking."

"It already is." Larken reassured the princess. Snow looked to be in her twenties with black hair and blood red lips. Her eyes were greener than the forest, much like the sandy-haired prince's. _Just like Harry's eyes, _Larken thought to herself. She herself had crystal blue eyes and long blonde hair, looking more like a child than the young lady she was. "It's so free here, so serene."

James patted his wife's shoulder. "I'm going to go take Harry out to the stables, alright Snow? You get acquainted with your new lady in waiting."

"Stay safe." Snow pleaded. James and Harry left the two ladies alone in the room, and Snow sat on the side of the bed. Larken continued to stand there awkwardly until the princess motioned for her to sit beside her. "So, dear, tell me a little about yourself. How did you end up here?"

"The kingdom I come from… it's not very good." Larken explained. "They keep trying to find a princess for the prince but none of them ever pass the Queen's test. And even worse: Her Majesty passed a law that no one could get married until her son did."

Snow nodded. "So you left for true love?"

"Harry and I, well, after Princess Number 12 we began to lose hope he would ever marry. I found out I was pregnant, and we couldn't stay and raise a baby under _her _ruling. So we left, and found your kingdom. Everyone here is kind of in a panic. A bunch of dwarves took us in, showed me and Harry to the castle but told me you two weren't here. They said we could stay here and work here."

"Of course, of course." Snow looked out the window, glancing every now and then out to the stables. "We can use all the help around here we can get."

Larken smiled at the princess who suddenly went silent. "What is it?"

Snow took off her thick red cloak to reveal her rounded stomach. "There's a curse coming, but we want to make sure everything is set up for baby Emma."

Larken didn't know how to respond to the princess. "Well, your highness, Harry and I will do everything in our power to protect your family. After all, we ran away to protect ours."

...

Regina sat on her throne in her purple dress, her son sitting at her feet like a child. He was almost twenty now, eight years younger than his wretched half sister Snow White. Regina cringed at the name. He never knew the girl, who was raised by the king. It wasn't too long ago that the king died: about a decade since he passed and Snow White left. Regina tried to keep her one dear son safe from being a pawn in the king's trade.

"Mama," The boy asked, looking up at his mother. "When am I going to get married?"

Regina looked to him with nothing but love in her eyes. He didn't look like the king, but he was the king's son. He had a chubby face and jade green eyes, but he was a decent-looking young man. "Daniel, one day we will find a princess suitable for you."

Daniel shrugged and whined to his mother. "We've had twelve come so far!"

"None of them have been right for you, dear; I've got your future in my mind. She has to be a genuine, certified princess."

Daniel rested his head between his hands, his elbows on his knees as he pouted. "What about Snow White? She's pretty and a princess…"

Regina had kept it a secret so long about his half sister. Snow White didn't need to know about her son, the boy that she told the princess died at birth and sent off to live with a nanny in the other castle until she was gone. "No, dear boy, she's married now."

"Oh." That was all that Daniel could manage. Somehow he felt connected to Snow White, the princess that ran away from her kingdom and changed everything. His mother had Snow's face on WANTED posters and offered a huge reward for her. Maybe his mother was trying to get her to come to the kingdom to marry him, but he doubted it. Her knights always found the obscene ones…

"Come on, Daniel, there's cocoa for you in the kitchen." Regina offered her son gleefully, ignoring their previous conversation. He always loved cocoa.

Daniel stood with his mother. "Can I put cinnamon in it? It sounds tasty."

_That horrid habit Snow White had!_ Thought Regina stubbornly, looking at her son once more. "No dear, that could make you sick. Just come on."

...

Months passed aimlessly and Snow and Larken grew closer. Harry and James got to know each other as well and a lot more as well about the ladies they loved. Ella and Thomas were outside in the stables with Harry and James while Larken and Snow prepared the food. Snow was due any day now, so she sat and cut vegetables while her busybody lady-in-waiting set the table. "Oh, you'll like Ella." Snow reassured Larken as she ran from the kitchen to the dining room and back. "She's only a few years older than you are. She's very kind…"

"Any friend of the royal family is a friend of mine." Larken told her cheerily. "Now is there anything else you need, your highness? I set out the plates, the royal council is already upstairs debating things—" Things, Larken realized, she probably shouldn't know anything about or worry herself with. "—and Harry and Prince James should be in shortly with our company."

Snow put down her knife and looked at the finely chopped vegetables in the bowl. "Could you go and put this salad on the table, Larken?" Larken did as she was told and then came back. "That will be all. Please, though, go upstairs to your room and pick out a different dress. We all should look our best for our company."

"Yes, your highness." Larken curtsied to the princess.

Snow shook her head at the young blonde. "Larken, please call me Snow. There's no need to be so formal!"

Larken went back up the stairs and pulled out a yellow dress from her closet. The new royal family she and Harry served was so kind. The princess gave her and Harry a room to share separate from the stables he worked in and the mat in the corner that she was used to in her home kingdom. Harry even had his own horse that Prince James gave him. Not to mention that the young couple really didn't need that much help around the castle and would much rather do something on their own than have it done for them. That was one thing Larken didn't like about Her Majesty: she had everyone dote on her son, the prince.

By the time Larken came back down, everyone was getting ready to be seated in the dining room. True to Snow's word, Ella seemed to be a very cheery young lady. She wore a light blue dress and a white shawl around her shoulders. Beside Prince James was another man, obviously the Prince Thomas that Snow had mentioned briefly earlier. The royal families sat down at their appropriate seats. Harry went over to Larken with a grin, pulling out a chair for her to sit down. "Oh, where are my manners!" Ella said, looking clearly to the new lady-in-waiting. "I'm Ella—Cinderella, some people still call me that—and this is my husband, Thomas. You must be the lady-in-waiting, and the knight. We've heard only good things about you."

Thomas looked to Harry. "James said you fled from your kingdom to come here?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, we did. Her Majesty, well, she wasn't the most kind of rulers. Then there was this traveling man—a pirate, wasn't he, Larken?"

"Killian Jones." Larken said quietly. "He had only one hand, I think he was a pirate." Harry gestured for her to continue. "He came into the kingdom, telling these stories of other realms: Neverland, Wonderland, Normandy, and this kingdom of course. So we came here, and we're very thankful we did. Rumor is that Her Majesty has only gotten worse since we left."

"And your old queen's name?" Thomas asked quickly.

Snow sighed loudly. "Well, that's enough politics for tonight, don't you think?" She removed the napkin from her lap and placed it next to her untouched plate of salad and pasta. "I'm going to go upstairs and lie down for a while, but please do enjoy yourselves."

Snow waddled up the stairs, Ella and Thomas both looking very confused. James attempted to explain to the royal family in front of him. "She's nervous about Regina's curse and the baby… she's got a full plate." James then turned to Larken. "Larken, will you go check on Snow?"

Larken ran up the stairs without a word. As soon as she got to the royal bedchamber she saw Snow sitting on the edge of the bed, clutching her stomach with tears rolling down her face. In total fear, Larken darted out of the room and back downstairs to get the prince.

From the north tower you could hear the dwarves yelling. "The curse! It's here!"

_Well that's the first chapter of my new story! Please review and let me know what you think!_


	2. Storybrooke, Maine

Chapter One: Storybrooke, Maine

It was an ordinary day in the small town of Storybrooke. Mary Margaret Blanchard woke up early as ever to get the coffee poured and breakfast eaten before she headed off to her class of fourth graders. She pulled out a shirt from her closet and a matching sweater, pulled it over her jeans and ate her cereal looking out at the never changing clock tower.

The alarm of the clock in the other room went off. There were two bedrooms on the apartment Mary Margaret Blanchard lived in: one for her and one for her daughter, April. Mary Margaret had put April's father out of her mind, but she must've looked just like him with her blonde curly hair and blue eyes. As long as either of them (or anyone else in Storybrooke for that matter) could remember, it had just been the two lovely ladies in the small apartment. April rolled out of bed with a sick feeling in her stomach, and she ran to the bathroom instantly to empty her stomach. Mary Margaret didn't know how her little girl, her darling little April, could've ended up fifteen and pregnant in such a tiny town. Her baby's father—Mary Margaret knew him all too well as Matthew Schuster, a boy that had been taken in by Granny and Ruby (Granny said something about the boy being somehow related to Ruby's mother)—was not someone she wanted her daughter to associate with. Mary Margaret was trying to be a kind and understanding mother, but she wanted to make sure that April would take care of her child the way that she took care of April.

"Mom, do we have any Cinnamon Toast Crunch?" April asked kindly, braiding her hair from her seat at the kitchen table. Mary Margaret shook her head but handed her a piece of actual cinnamon toast. It had only been a few months since April found out she was pregnant, and in six more months she would have a daughter or son to take care of although she was still young herself. April took the toast willingly and ate it, looking kindly to her loving mother. "Thanks, mom."

Mary Margaret smiled and sat across from her daughter. "Now April I'm going to be at school a little later than usual because of the school board meeting, but I trust you'll behave and you won't let anyone into the house."

"You mean Matthew." April clarified. Her mother didn't answer, but she knew it was true. She knew Mary Margaret didn't really like Andrew from the beginning, and maybe that's why she liked him. But April just felt drawn to him, like they were somehow connected. They were soul mates, even if he wasn't speaking to her at the moment. "Don't worry, he won't be coming anywhere near me anytime soon."

Mary Margaret checked her watch. "7:15 and I'm going to be late! See you later, April, and please behave yourself at school today. I don't want to get a call… again."

"Best behavior, I promise." April falsely saluted to her mother as they both walked out the door and down opposite sides of the street. April smiled and wrapped a scarf around her neck, getting ready to walk out in the cool October air.

There was something about Storybrooke that seemed different from all the places in the world that she had studied. She had studied countries in Europe and Africa and Asia but this was just a quaint small town. It was the kind of place where everyone knew your name and your story. Everyone knew too much about April for her sake though. She wanted to be a stranger for once. She wanted to run away with Matthew, go somewhere where she wouldn't be watched by someone else like a child.

At the school she could feel the eyes of other students looking at her. She already had a reputation although she was only in the tenth grade. April was remembered for being Ms. Blanchard's teenage daughter and the town slut. Oh, how she wanted to disappear from this place! April hid her face and disappeared into the back of her AP Biology classroom.

...

Mayor Mills walked into Mary Margaret's classroom in a frenzy, confusing the daylights out of the little schoolteacher. "Madame Mayor" Mary Margaret attempted to warmly welcome the woman that signed her paychecks. A blonde woman looking to be about her age walked behind Regina Mills. "what brings you here?"

"Henry." Regina growled at Mary Margaret. "Where is he?"

Mary Margaret stood from the seat at her desk. "I figured he was at home with you."

"Would I be here if he was?"

The blonde took a kinder approach than the mayor had. "Did you, by any chance, lend Henry your credit card?"

"Madame Mayor, who's this?" Mary Margaret asked before answering any questions. She was very timid and cautious, unsure of everything.

"I'm Henry's—"

"The woman that put Henry up for adoption." Regina added harshly. She had never been particularly friendly toward Mary Margaret, especially knowing who she really was. Where was her Henry? Daniel told her that Henry had gone to school that very morning before he went to the Sheriff's station with Graham. She had found the best place for her darling Daniel…

Mary Margaret dug through her purse. The blonde looked at her and sighed. "You didn't know about this, did you?"

"No idea." Mary Margaret told her, finding that her credit card was missing from her wallet. "I should've never given him that book…"

Regina was furious. "What is this book I keep hearing about?"

"Just a book of stories, that's all." Mary Margaret stammered, putting her wallet back into her purse. "He's a smart boy, a special boy… but he's very lonely. He needed it."

"I'm going to go find my son." Regina started out of the room, turning on her heels and putting a hand on her hip as she glared at the blonde. "Have a nice trip back to Boston, Miss Swan." When Regina exited she didn't fail to knock things off of Mary Margaret Blanchard's desk. The blonde went to the school teacher and helped her clean up the mess Regina made.

"I'm Emma Swan, by the way." The blonde told her as she started to pick up the books. "Sorry to bother you."

Mary Margaret looked at her very carefully. She looked so much like her darling April yet somehow so different… "It's no bother really…" The resemblance was almost uncanny, the only difference between the teenage child she had at home and the blonde woman in front of her was the woman's green eyes. "I'm sorry, you just look so much like my daughter." She turned around a framed photo of April. "It was her idea to give Henry that book."

"Why?" Emma asked, wanting to know more about her son.

"He's a lonely boy, and just like any adopted child he battles the question 'why would anyone want to give me away?'" Mary Margaret thought for a second about April. What if April did want to put her baby up for adoption? Certainly April would never forgive herself, and neither would Mary Margaret, but maybe the child could have a better life… "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that—"

"Do you have any idea where he could be?" Emma asked, disregarding what Mary Margaret said.

"You should probably check his castle."

...

Henry and April sat in the small wooden castle overlooking the sea. Henry was one of the few people April could talk to that didn't give her dirty glares or meaningless advice they knew she wouldn't use. Emma came up into the castle to find Henry staring out at the water and April doing her homework. "Kid, you left your book in my car." Emma handed him back the big storybook which he quickly tucked into his bag. "Now come on, let's get you home so that I can get back to Boston…"

April looked at Emma. There was something almost familiar about her, but she couldn't put a finger on it. "Henry, this is your real mom, right?"

"Oh yeah, Emma, this is April Blanchard." April smiled at Emma but said nothing. Henry followed after Emma when she tried to walk away. "Please, just stay for one week! I can't stay with her, please!"

Emma turned and looked at him with tears in her eyes. _At least he has a family to call his own. _"Your mom is trying her best." April just sat there awkwardly looking down at her English II notes. "Come on, Henry."

Henry followed Emma back into town like a doting puppy. It amazed April that even though he just found his mother, he already loved her. Would her baby love her the way Henry loved Emma? She could only hope so. From what April knew of Emma, what Henry had told her, was that she was put up for adoption like he was, but he said it with his fancy fairy tale references. Maybe having someone who seemed to be like her in Storybrooke wouldn't be such a bad thing.

_Please review and I'll post as quickly as I can! Also, I'm trying to go episode-by-episode to get chapters, but let me know if you have any ideas at all!_


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